For those Android lovers who were waiting for Vodafone to release the HTC Magic in the UK this month, there apparently is some bad news. According to Pocket-lint, an issue with a late hardware change has forced the manufacturer to push the launch back to May. While the carrier’s own web page still shows delivery scheduled for this month, a call to their sales center comes back with a release date of May 1st. HTC has also released a statement, saying, “We are delighted with the interest that the HTC Magic has received since its launch with Vodafone at Mobile World Congress 2009. We are confident that Vodafone’s customers will be delighted with the HTC Magic in spite of a short delay due to a last minute hardware change”. With the Magic on the sidelines for at least another month, could another Android powered device pull off an end run to be the second handset with the Google open source OS? Wonder what is happening to the Kogan Agora these days.

T-Mobile has been trying to breathe life into the G1 with a new TV campaign. The carrier also released some statistics that you might find interesting. About 1 of every 2 G1 owners traded up to the first Android powered device from a featurephone (we would say dumbphones, but we do not want to insult innocent devices). 80% of G1 owners surf the web daily and over half are using Facebook and YouTube at least once a week with the same percentage connecting daily to Wi-Fi. Now we can admit that this information might be useful to T-Mobile when it comes to marketing future phones, but the one stat that is indicative of money coming into the carrier’s vault right now is that the average G1 customer has downloaded 40 apps from the Android Market and 4 out of 5 download apps at least once per week. What we want to know is if that 4 out of 5 are chewing Trident while shopping for apps.

When the HTC Magic made its first trip through the halls of the FCC, there was no indication which U.S. carrier was going to pull the handset out of its’ hat. Over a month passes, and now we find the device back at the FCC but this time it is wearing the branding of T-Mobile USA. The phone becomes the first T-Mobile model to pass through the Feds with both the carrier’s 3G and UMA. Other specs include a 5MP camera, although the European version has 3.2MP one, and Wi-Fi. While availability date and pricing have not been mentioned, it looks like this unit has three choices for a name. There is the chronologically correct but sparse G2, the quaint Sapphire, or the mystical name being used in Europe – the HTC Magic. Does any of the names do it for you, or you have a better idea for this smartphone’s title?

Another goodie for Android users comes from the company BSQUARE, which has announced its intentions to bring Flash to the platform. There isn’t much information about this one, but the source informs that all this would happen on behalf of a “global Tier 1 carrier”.

Last but certainly not least, the much-anticipated Office document managing application DocsToGo has finally hit Android Market. The Android version of the popular program will allow for viewing, editing and creating of Microsoft Office documents. Unlike its Windows Mobile and BlackBerry variants, it currently manages only Word and Excel files. DocsToGo (Standard Edition) is compatible with Office 97-2008 documents and will be able to view and download Gmail attachments. You can get the app at an introductory price of $19.99. Its regular price will be $29.99.

New stuff for Android continues to flood the space. No, there isn’t an on-screen QWERTY keyboard, at least for now. Still, those who are not satisfied with Google’s online store for mobile applications, the Android Market, might just find something that would suit their taste better.

The new solution is freshly called SlideME and it also features a special app, bearing the lively name of SAM, the purpose of which is to assist you in managing and purchasing applications. Users will be able to pay with credit cards via PayPal or a SlideME MasterCard debit account. Fortunately, free apps will also be on board.

“My Account” is the first official T-Mobile Android app which was released to owners of the G1. As its name implies, the application is designed to give you important and useful information on your account, like minutes and texts remaining for the month and a summary of your bill. If for some reason you are suffering from cellular amnesia, you can get a run down on your current plan and the cost. With “My Account” you can also access help guides and join forums. The app is available for free at the Android Marketplace and appears to be a must have service for G1 owners.

Instant Messaging has already accumulated too much fans… and it seems there are more coming, because Palringo, one of the most popular mobile IM applications, is now available to all Android users through Android Market. It basically allows you to communicate with your friends via AIM, Google Talk, MSN, Facebook, Yahoo! Messenger and other messaging services and social networks. With Palringo, users will be also able to send photo messages and share their location and proximity with each other, displayed next to their status in Palringo’s contacts list. So, if you feel like taking part in the IM mania that has come over everybody, you know what to do.

After Acer has recently announced its debut in the world of smartphones, which took place at the MWC this year, the popular computer manufacturer is now rumored to introduce a phone, running on the Android operating system, in September. According to the Philippine Business Mirror newspaper, the handset is called A1 and will be one of four phones Acer is to debut this September. While this information is still unconfirmed officially, one thing is clear – Acer is a smart player. Entering the smartphone industry in first place was a wise move by the Taiwanese-based company, since this is still a progressing market. Announcing an Android-based product comes truly natural, since it is expected that Android would become more and more popular in the future.

It has long been thought that PC maker Dell would start producing a line of smartphones. According to stock market analyst Shaw Wu, who practices his craft at Kaufman Brothers, it is back to the drawing board for Dell after prototypes of the company’s smartphones were rejected by the cellular carriers. According to a story on Barron’s web site, Dell had produced prototypes of handsets running Windows Mobile and others running the Android OS. The carriers were not impressed, according to Wu, and they felt that there was not enough “differentiation” between Dell’s mock-ups and smartphones scheduled to be released by manufacturers like Samsung, LG, Nokia and Motorola among others. Wu’s sources tell him that the PC maker is not giving up and that the company is aware of the numbers that show that the smartphone niche of the cellphone business is expected to grow in the next two years despite the weak world-wide economy. With the increasing data gathering and crunching these phones can do, this sector of the industry is also taking business away from Dell’s computer sales. Now that other PC makers like Acer are pushing a strong line of smartphones, Wu says that Dell is working on designing a phone with enough differences to catch the attention of the cellular networkers. Another option for the company would be an acquisition of a cellphone manufacturer. Considering how low stock market prices are, there could be plenty of opportunities for Dell to buy their way into the industry.

With the G1 already on the market for months, the HTC Magic due out in Europe as soon as next month, and rumors of a new G2 model to be officially revealed soon, HTC is the leader in producing Android powered handsets. But the manufacturer soon could have competition from Samsung as the latter manufacturer wants to start competing with the Korean firm as soon as the third quarter of this year, and at the same time, become a top 5 producer of handsets using Google’s open source OS. To get the ball rolling, DigiTimes is reporting that leaked information from Samsung shows that their first Android based model (is it this one?) will resemble the Magic and both will use Qualcomm’s 3.5G chipset. A launch date, carrier availability, and pricing all were not mentioned. As we reported, HTC won’t be sitting on their laurels as they plan on producing two additional Android models in 2009 besides the Magic, according to company president and CEO Peter Chou who revealed this at a Merrill Lynch technology conference in Taipei. With all of this talk about producing more Android handsets, the winner is certainly going to be cellphone users everywhere.